Friday, October 04, 2013

Pleasant Şirince

A small village called Şirince (pronounced as /shee-rihn-jee/) in Izmir Province is like the best place I have visited in Turkey. Our family went there for a day tour last summer after two nights in Kusadasi. Şirince is believed to have "positive energy" which attracted thousands of people who wanted to witness the Mayan Apocalypse in December 2012.

The old settlers of this village were Greek slaves that's why people used to call it Çirkince, meaning "ugly". In 1926, a Turkish governor changed Çirkince into Şirince which means "pleasant".

Happy family in Şirince. It was very hot that day yet I ignored the scorching sun. We just walked around the community to experience the culture and enjoyed taking photos of the scenery.

At the foot of the village is where you can find the souvenirs shops and restaurants. We just passed them, went uphill to St. John The Baptist Church, then checked the things on sale right after.

Colorful doll and house ref magnets for sale. Like I said, once done looking around, we entered some souvenir shops then bought something for relatives and friends at home.

My firstborn liked this store a lot. She asked us to buy wood boxes but we didn't get a good price in spite all the haggling. The seller even thought hubby was a foreigner. Lol.

This section was the most pleasant in there. I mean, most pleasant when it comes to taste and smell. Aside from candies and Turkish delight, they have organic soaps and pickles as well.

My photos do not give enough justice to this place but I swear it is very photogenic. No traffic. No pollution. People are normally friendly as it is visited by tourists everyday.

Clean cobblestone pathway. Flowers and vines by the roadside. Population of this place is just a little over 500. So ideal place to live after retirement.

Lush of greenery. Vineyard here. Olive tree plantation there.

Fresh pomegranate or orange juice anyone?

I would love to go to this place again if given the chance the next time that I visit Turkey. I just love old villages. It is one of my dreams to live in a place like this.

1 comment:

I am a fan of the Mayan's history way back in high school. I've been imagining how their community looks like based on the description on our history books. Thanks a lot for sharing, sister. Nice photos! :-)